MARCH 2022
Faith on
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DOWN ON THE FARM
Sowing the seeds of sustainability
A COMMUNITY IN GRIEF
Reflecting on the murder of Ashling Murphy
EVERY NATION, TRIBE AND PEOPLE Racism and the church
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CONTENTS | MARCH 2022
FEATURES 12 At the heart of Ballygomartin
A congregation reaching out to the community in love
16 A community in grief
Reflecting on the murder of Ashling Murphy
18 All the days of my life
New PCI resource for those in later life
20 Down on the farm
Sowing the seeds of sustainability
32 Every nation, tribe and people Racism and the church
36 An immersive reading experience
At the heart of Ballygomartin p12
A new way to read the Bible
38 Learning to listen
Spiritual formation retreats
REGULARS 4 5 8 9 10 11 15 23 31 40 42 46
Letters News In this month My story Life lessons Norman Hamilton David Clarke Mission Connect Ruth Sanderson Reviews Life in PCI Crossword
A community in grief p16
CONTRIBUTORS
Cover photo: Jamie Trimble March 2022 No. 836 Published by: The Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Assembly Buildings, Belfast BT1 6DW. T: +44 (0)28 9032 2284 E: herald@presbyterianireland.org W: www.presbyterianireland.org
Every nation, tribe and people p32
Ruth Garvey-Williams is a journalist, author and researcher who has served in Christian ministry for over 30 years. She is the VOX magazine editor.
Roz Stirling is the founder and director of Cleopas, a ministry that offers retreat and reflective space for any Christian seeking to abide more deeply in Christ.
Alan Meban attends Kilmakee Presbyterian Church and writes about culture and politics as Alan in Belfast on his own blog and Slugger O’Toole.
Suzanne Hamilton is Senior Communications Assistant for the Herald. She attends Ballyholme Presbyterian in Bangor, is married to Steven and mum to twin boys.
Editor: Sarah Harding
The views expressed in the features, news reports, letters and book reviews of this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor. Editorial comment and signed Subscriptions and Advertising: articles do not necessarily contain the official views of the Church, which can only be laid down only by the General Assembly. Acceptance of advertisements Elaine Huddleston; does not imply endorsement of the goods or services. Advertising will not be Suzanne Hamilton included if the product or service is deemed to be in conflict with the Church’s Design and Layout: official views, or if it is inappropriate for a church magazine. It is not Herald policy Edward Connolly to include any editorial content along with adverts. The editor reserves the right Printing: to decline any advertisement or letter without assigning any reason. Letters may W & G Baird Ltd be edited for publication. No correspondence can be entered into regarding nonpublication of advertisements or letters.
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The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is a Registered Charity in Northern Ireland (NIC104483); Registered Charity in Republic of Ireland (20015695).
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A community in grief A community in grief William Hayes reflects on the impact of Ashling Murphy’s murder on the community of Tullamore.
William Hayes reflects on the impact of Ashling Murphy’s murder on the community of Tullamore.
T
he murder of Ashling Murphy was a crime that struck a note of horror around the world. As vigils took place as far apart as Sydney and New York, her death came to signify so much about the dangers that disproportionately face women in our society. In Tullamore these society-wide issues have been present, but for our community it has also been a time of shock and grief. Ashling was not only a national school (primary school) teacher who taught first class (P3) in a rural school just outside of the town, but she was involved in so many of the things that our community holds dear. She took part in GAA and played traditional Irish music. One of the local head teachers put it like this: “With all that she was part of, it feels that this is more than the killing of one person, but an attack at the heart of our whole community.” As a community, we gathered together for three vigils in different areas of the
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town on the Friday after her murder. I, along with the other clergy in town, led prayers at the vigil in Tullamore Town Park. As we waited for the vigil to start, we watched in awe as thousands upon thousands of people from in and around our town poured into the park. The stage was surrounded by hundreds of traditional musicians and the park was filled with the sound of their playing in the time running up to the vigil ceremony. As candles were laid out in the park in a heart shape, flowers began to be left at the entrance to the canal, and people expressed their shock and horror at all that had happened. The sharp mix of public grief, international media attention, and the private pain of a family brought to mind the events surrounding
The world’s cameras have gone but the grieving continues…
the death of Princess Diana. Just as at that time of international public mourning over the untimely death of a young woman, so in the mourning over the death of Ashling Murphy, there was a complex and intermingled web of grieving in which our own losses and fears were expressed. At the time of Diana’s death, a new term entered into the popular consciousness: ‘vicarious grief ’. It came to refer to that bundling up of our own grief with the public mourning of someone we did not know personally. Two decades ago that term was used to criticise the style and extent of the public grief over Diana, but vicarious grief is not something shallow, fashionable or tawdry to be distrusted or looked down upon. Wrapped up in our community and our country’s mourning for the murder of Ashling were the many losses that people up and down the country had faced during the pandemic. Alongside the grief for Ashling was the fear that
parents (like me) of girls have every time their daughter is outside in a world where she is always going to be less safe than her brother. Also wrapped up in that grief was the grief for so many other young women who have been attacked or killed. The irony that her murder took place on a stretch of the canal named after another local woman, Fiona Pender, who disappeared and was suspected murdered over two decades ago, was not lost on the local community. Just after the funeral of Ashling Murphy, the Irish President attended the first anniversary mass of Urantsetseg Tserendorj who had been murdered in Dublin the previous year. This intermingling of public grief and personal loss was felt in Tullamore Presbyterian Church the Sunday after the news of the murder. The service started late as family after family came along to share with me their own connection to Ashling or how her death had retraumatised them after their own losses and pain. During the service we looked at John 11, the story of the raising of Lazarus. We looked at how John depicted the differing styles of grief of the two sisters. Martha comes to Jesus sad that Jesus did not heal him, but with a deep confidence that her brother will rise again on the last day. Mary’s grief appears to have anger deep within it that causes her to break tradition – initially she refuses to go out to meet Jesus as an honoured guest at the funeral. Mary’s “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” carries with it a stronger rebuke to Jesus because it is not followed by Martha’s statement of faith. We each grieve and mourn in our different ways. Martha’s confident
Zambrero Ireland Ashling Murphy
faith and Mary’s anger are both valid expressions of the emotions that we feel within us at the loss of a loved one. Sometimes when we mourn we move between the various stages of faith, disappointment, anger and pain. Sometimes we are a bundle of all of these things together.
…our grief is important because it reminds us that evil in this world is senseless and wrong. While the different forms of grieving of Mary and Martha teach us that it is okay to express our grief in different ways, the weeping of Jesus shows us that even our grief is holy before God. This is important because, whether we live in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland our cultures do not deal well with the idea of grief. We are expected to be stoic and to ‘grieve well’. Even the amount of time that we are allowed to grieve is remarkably short in our society. If you are not putting your best foot forward within a couple of months of a severe loss then people begin to worry about you. This is all so unnatural and so unhealthy. There is a huge difference between what Paul means when he tells us not
to grieve like those without hope and those who would simply tell us not to grieve at all. We grieve, we mourn, it is a natural thing. Jesus did it. He wept at the graveside of a friend that only moments later he would raise from the dead. On that Sunday in Tullamore church, just as in many parts of our community on that day and in the days since, we wept and mourned. We prayed, and we grieved. These things are holy. Jesus did them. Our grief is holy and our grief is important because it reminds us that evil in this world is senseless and wrong. It is not meant to be here. We should never expect it to be normal that women are attacked and killed so regularly. That grief and that anger points us away from the violence and pain of this world to the kingdom of God and to the prayer that God’s kingdom would come and his will be done here on earth as it is in heaven. We grieve with hope. Not just for ourselves, rising one day to be with Christ, but for this world, that it might be transformed into the kingdom of God through the redeeming work of Christ. Please pray for our community. The world’s cameras have gone but the grieving continues and will surely be reignited with the impending trial, anniversaries and the ending of the school year. Pray for Ashling’s family, for the murderer and for his own family. Pray for the peace of Tullamore and protection for every woman out today who will be looking over her shoulder a little more and feeling much less safe than in the days before Ashling Murphy’s name became known around the world. Rev William Hayes is minister of Tullamore Presbyterian Church.
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“A
Every nation, tribe & people Ruth Garvey-Williams explores racism and inclusion in PCI.
fter this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb… And they cried out in a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.’” (Revelation 7:9–10) Three years ago, I was at a meeting of Presbyterian church leaders discussing the challenges faced by multi-ethnic congregations. Some shared the trauma and pain their church members had experienced. Others talked of the difficulties of helping newcomers to integrate into church life. Still others wondered how Christians from other ethnicities could contribute in meaningful ways. “Could we do some research to find out more?” one leader asked. Sitting next to me was Damian Jackson from the Irish Council of Churches. We
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formed a partnership to carry out this research, not just for PCI but across all Christian denominations in Ireland. We wanted to deepen our understanding of the experience of, and attitudes towards, racism and discrimination in churches. We wanted to explore the potential for unity, integration and inclusion and to examine how the church can lead the way in tackling racial injustice where it occurs. Damian said, “We believe that every person is a bearer of God’s image and that part of our calling to love our neighbour requires us to have concern for barriers to belonging and flourishing in our churches. We need to respond to racism, discrimination and exclusion in Ireland, and in order to do that effectively
52% of Presbyterians have never heard a sermon on this topic.
and with authenticity, we need to begin by looking at ourselves.” VOX magazine and the Irish Council of Churches launched an all-island survey in 2021 with support from PCI, the Evangelical Alliances of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and Tearfund Ireland. The survey collected over 1,000 responses from a wide spectrum of denominations. In this special report for the Presbyterian Herald, we look at the 245 responses from people who described themselves as Presbyterian. Of these, 51% were living in Northern Ireland, 38.5% in Dublin or other parts of Leinster, 1.5% in Munster and 9% in Connacht or the border counties of Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal. The majority were over 50 years of age (58%) with 31% aged between 35 and 50 and 11% aged between 18 and 35. 92% of Presbyterian respondents described themselves as committed Christians, with 70.5% “active and fully using my gifts” and 20% “active but not fully using my gifts”.
Headline findings The research shows there is overwhelming support amongst committed members of Presbyterian churches for intentional engagement in this topic. Significantly 92% think it is important for Presbyterian churches to engage in conversations about race and racism and 80% strongly agree or agree, “Racism and discrimination are real problems in Ireland and Northern Ireland.” One important theme was the need to engage biblically with the issues. Presbyterians expressed a strong desire to see what the Bible has to say about racism and to follow biblical principles of unity and justice. However, 52% of Presbyterians have never heard a sermon on this topic. One way in which Presbyterian responses differed from those of other denominations was a small but vocal minority (1–2%) who expressed the opinion that the church should not be involved in any work relating to racial justice.
Experiences of people from ethnic minorities An important focus of the research was on listening to the experiences of ethnic minorities. Only 30 out
92%
think it is important for Presbyterian churches to engage in conversations about race and racism.
of 245 Presbyterians responded to questions specifically directed to ethnic minorities. While a small sampling and not representative, it was encouraging to see that most of these people have not experienced racism (79%) or discrimination (67%) in church. However, one in five had experienced occasional incidents of racism and one third had experienced occasional instances of discrimination in the church. Almost half of respondents had experienced micro-aggressions, either occasionally or regularly, and a third had heard ‘jokes’ about their ethnicity or
We are blind to our own world view, but it is the lens through which we interpret others.
culture. Stories and examples reveal a range of difficult experiences alongside a few more positive examples of welcome and inclusion. “[I am] delighted to be part of a multi-ethnic congregation. The different races/ethnicities have so enriched our fellowship. When the church began to grow with many from African cultures, the leadership set up a meeting to discover what we were doing badly or inadequately so that peoples from different backgrounds would be welcomed and affirmed in our community.” “Being Black in Northern Ireland is traumatic. On a daily basis, racist acts such as name-calling, people waving banana skins from cars, people crossing the road to avoid you, are common experiences. The five Black young adult men I know are reluctant to leave their homes and struggle to stay in (all-white) workplaces.” “I have lived and worked in NI and have experienced the problem there firsthand.” More work is needed to capture a greater spectrum of feedback to more accurately reflect the experience of people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Presbyterian churches.
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96%
of all Presbyterian respondents strongly agree or agree that churches are enriched by ethnic diversity.
Attitudes The survey explored the attitude of the white majority congregants. 191 Presbyterians engaged with this question. While this gives a strong indication of the attitudes among Presbyterians, there were proportionately more responses from the more ethnically diverse churches in ROI (82) than from those in Northern Ireland (109). A significant majority value diversity as a gift in their church, and believe people from ethnic minorities should be included fully in church life: • 96% of all Presbyterian respondents strongly agree or agree that churches are enriched by ethnic diversity. • 82% of Presbyterians from the (white) majority ethnic community strongly agree or agree, “members from ethnic minorities add vibrancy to the worship in my church.” • 82% of Presbyterians from the (white) ethnic majority strongly agree or agree that “the leadership of a church should reflect the ethnic diversity of its congregation.” While there was strong support for leadership diversity, this statement also prompted concerns about tokenism and questions as to why more ethnic minorities do not come forward for leadership. Dozens of thoughtful comments, examples and suggestions illuminate the findings. “I think our congregations could/ should do more about welcoming and supporting immigrants/refugees/ asylum seekers.” “We are blind to our own world view, but it is the lens through which we interpret others.” “We have had several people of African ancestry visit our church but none have stayed. We fear difference and diversity and want to assimilate it, rather than welcoming it as a means of enriching faith... We never get quotes from Black theologians, all our theology is white and this is seen as
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We never get quotes from Black theologians, all our theology is white and this is seen as normal… normal. We tend to use images which suggest all Bible characters were white.” “Racism isn’t an issue in our church.” “I personally have visited the International Meeting Point in Belfast… and it really did help me to see the scale of the need for folk from other ethnic groups and encouraged us to do other things to help. The work of the people there is immense and a fantastic outreach. This helped me to see this problem in a different light and removed some blind spots I might even have had.” “We need to hear more of what the Bible teaches on racial inclusivity. We have spent so much time, for example, talking about Adam and Eve in terms of evolution or sexuality, that we often forget the utterly radical lesson that their creation teaches us about race. We are all descended from the same forebears. We are all the one race. Comparing the ethnic make-up of the area in which our church operates to the ethnic mix (or lack of ) in our congregation could also be helpful. A more controversial measure might also be to turn away from the dependence/ fixation that many churches and church leaders have with the USA. A greater, more international, diversity of role models, mission partners and conference/training speakers would help us to appreciate more the gifts that God has given the world church and not just one, very white dominated nation.”
Strong reactions A few questions provoked stronger reactions, particularly when the systemic and structural nature of racism was explored. 8% of Presbyterian participants strongly disagree or disagree that “Racism and discrimination are real problems in Ireland/Northern Ireland.” (This compares to 7% of all 1059 survey respondents.)
8%
of Presbyterian participants strongly disagree or disagree that “Racism and discrimination are real problems in Ireland/ Northern Ireland.”
62% strongly agree or agree, “White privilege makes life so much easier for white people in Ireland/Northern Ireland” and that therefore life is harder if you are not white. This is surprising because there is a common misconception that white privilege can’t be real because many white people have significant struggles. The term ‘white privilege’ simply means that if you are white, your skin colour does not contribute to your disadvantage. Many respondents seemed to have a clear understanding of this distinction. However, 22% disagree or strongly disagree with the statement. The responses about ‘Black Lives Matter’ were polarised. One third (32%) of Presbyterians from the majority ethnic community strongly agree or agree with the statement “the Black Lives Matter movement has gone too far” with many pointing to the BLM organisation in America as reason for shunning the movement. Just over one third (38%) disagree or strongly disagree and the remaining 29% respondents describe themselves as “unsure”. Comments ranged from strong categorical rejections of BLM to more nuanced questioning of the links between a protest movement and the BLM organisation. “BLM is not simply about racial equality and justice. Its political standpoint, and attempt to rewrite history, is one I could not support, but [I] totally agree with a desire to end racism today.” “BLM is openly Marxist and holds a variety of views that are wholly incompatible with the Christian faith. It incites violence and stokes racial division. The church has nothing to learn from the poison of Critical Race Theory.”
Final comments Three open questions provoked a strong and largely positive response from Presbyterians. 1. How can we make the church more inclusive? Over 50% responded and the top five themes by frequency mentioned were: • Welcome/openness (15%) – “Make people welcome no matter who they are. Sometimes it is fear of the unknown that leads to racism.”
• Inclusion (13%) –
“The gospel makes us more inclusive. If a church is not inclusive it is not gospel based.”
• Leadership diversity/involvement (11%) –
“By having different ethnicities part of the leadership teams. By not expecting those who are different from us to become like us, but rather we should be willing to set aside our rights and privileges to incorporate aspects of others’ cultures and liturgies.”
• Be Christ-like/focus [only] on the gospel and gospel preaching (10.5%) – “If churches are Christian and treat everyone with respect then nothing needs to change, we should already be inclusive.”
• Bible teaching on the issue (7%) –
“Preach about it, people need to realise this is an issue that everyone has a part to engage in even if there is no ethnic community in their church.”
2. How can churches in Ireland/NI tackle racial injustice? Most comments in this section fit into two major themes: • Talk about it/speak out (28%) –
62%
strongly agree or agree, “White privilege makes life so much easier for white people in Ireland/Northern Ireland”. “We need to speak out on these issues clearly and nationally. Too often the church nationally is seen as only caring about the ethics of the bedroom or the classroom. Internally we need to take on the growth within churches of the early seeds of white nationalism and the disturbing use of right-wing media by church leaders… I am horrified by how many of our clergy share racist or dog whistle material by papers such as the Daily Mail, Belfast Newsletter or even Breitbart or other far right media on social media. The radical individualism of the present age allows us to say, ‘I’m not personally racist, so everything is fine, and I’m not responsible for whatever privileges I might have accrued in a racist society.’”
• Lead by example (11%) –
“The church must show diversity and oneness of the body of Christ first, irrespective of ethnicity or status or privileges, before she can do the talk about racial injustice in the wider society.”
3. Dreams and longings Over half of Presbyterian (53%) respondents answered the question “What do you long to see happen in your church?” Five main themes emerged – • Unity in diversity/one in Christ (19%): Many expressed a desire to see unity in diversity with many quoting directly from Revelation 7:9 and others referenced Galatians 3:22 and Acts 2.
• • • •
“All colours and races worshipping together. That’s the biblical dream and we need to make it happen as much as we can before it is going to gloriously happen!” A welcoming church (10.5%) An inclusive church (10%) Leadership diversity (7.5%) We are doing fine/no racism in my church (4.5%)
Closing remarks There is still much work to do to progress from welcome to inclusion, but we can be encouraged that, despite vocal objections from a small minority, the overwhelming majority of committed Christians in the Presbyterian Church are supportive of this work and recognise our responsibility to foster and model a counter-cultural community of grace in which all can flourish. One important role for Christian leaders will be to understand and address the key touch points, especially where controversy has been imported from other parts of the world. Introducing these topics into sermons and Bible teaching will be a key area for growth for the Presbyterian Church, especially as society becomes more diverse. However, perhaps the most important next step is a more intentional listening exercise to unpack the experiences of ethnic minorities that were not adequately captured in this research. Ruth Garvey-Williams is a journalist, author and researcher who has served in Christian ministry for over 30 years. As VOX magazine editor, she travels extensively, sharing what God is doing in Ireland.
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